Hot Chocolate, Hickeys, and Human Hot Water Bottles
by raybansanddietcoke
Summary: "No, you know, your body is hot. Wait, no! I mean, body heat and stuff! Not that you're not hot, I mean, you are, but I didn't mean it like that this time!" Nick rushed his words out, barely taking in what he'd just said himself. Jeff was still staring at him, wide-eyed and pink-faced. He was obviously shocked, and the situation was suddenly very awkward.


**A/N: So, this is my first fic so please don't be too harsh on me! Thanks to my friends Kay, Lauren and Mika for checking it over for mistakes, and thanks to my sister Kate for giving me the confidence to actually publish it! Hopefully the characters aren't OOC, but considering they don't actually have many lines, *glares at Ryan*, they shouldn't be. I don't want to keep you from reading the story, so I'll keep this short :) Love you all 36**

**Disclaimer: I don't own anything in this story, I don't even own my house.  
**

Jeff closed the door to the dorm room he shared with his best friend, (or crush, but he was never going to admit that), and brushed the light smattering of snow off of his shoulders. He removed his gloves now that he was inside, but immediately regretted the decision, feeling the cold travel up his fingertips. As he was putting them back on, he heard a small groan from the Nick-shaped lump on one of the two beds.  
"I'm so cold, Jeff!" Nick exclaimed, shivering on his bed with his arms wrapped around his waist, his knees tucked up to his chest. "You'd think that a private school could afford to fix the damn heating," he muttered.  
"They can afford it, they just can't be bothered," Jeff replied, sitting down on his bed, reaching for the flask of hot chocolate he and Nick had snuck down to the kitchen to make early that morning. He attempted to unscrew the lid, but his gloves were making him clumsy, so he had to take them off again. Once he had removed his gloves, he poured himself a cup, and then placed a second on Nick's nightstand.  
"You still have that? I thought it was all gone! Are you telling me I've been in here for my only free period of the week, listening to Wes' numerous voice mails about how to do a two-step properly for sectionals, re-reading last month's edition of Men's health, while you had a flask of hot chocolate under your bed?" Nick cried, throwing his hands up in exasperation. When Jeff nodded slowly, he solemnly said, "Jeffy, I don't know why I'm still friends with you. I may just ask Kurt to consider becoming my new best friend, because you've tasted those ginger nut biscuits he makes when Blaine is ill." He concluded with a short nod.  
Jeff snorted into his cup, "Like you'd ever be best friends with Kurt! He never shuts up about Blaine's eyes, Blaine's hair, Blaine's nose; he even told me that Blaine's feet were cute earlier! He would annoy the crap out of you! Anyway, I did actually tell you the hot chocolate was still there before I left for class this morning. You were too busy telling me to 'shut up because you need your beauty sleep,' to listen." Nick put his hand to his heart in mock upset.  
"I'll have you know that my beauty sleep is very important, how else do you think I manage to look this good?" He laughed, before taking a sip of the warm drink, and turning back to the magazine he had been reading. Jeff sighed, thinking how much he agreed with Nicks' statement. Nick did look good. He didn't need any sleep to look like he did! His hair always looked perfect, whether it was styled back for school, still wet from his shower, or flattened to the side of his face from the way he'd been sleeping. His eyes always seemed to have a sparkle in them, especially when he talked about food, or a new idea he had for a solo audition, or going out on the weekend with Jeff. And his body... Jeff had been lucky enough to have been accommodated with Nick in the dorms at Dalton, so he got to see Nick most days when he had just finished his shower. Yesterday morning had been particularly nice, Jeff recalled. Nicks' fluffy white towel was wrapped loosely around his waist, several droplets of water disappearing beneath it. He had obviously rubbed his hair with his towel before he left the bathroom, because it was sticking up in several places which made him look even more adorable. However, Jeff couldn't help stealing glances of Nicks' chest, arms and stomach when he thought Nick was not looking. His muscles were not extremely enhanced like a model, but Nick had definitely been working out lately. Jeff could see the beginning of a six-pack, and his arms were clearly bigger than they had been a few months ago. But what Jeff really liked about seeing Nick coming out from a shower was the defined V shape that reached down into his towel, along with the thin trail of dark hair that ran down it. There had been many times when Jeff had considered running over to Nick and pulling off that damned towel, just to see what was hidden beneath it.  
"...Jeff? Are you ok?" Nick was looking at him, his chocolate brown eyes dark with concern. "What? No, I'm fine, just... cold," That was the best excuse Jeff could think of in a few seconds. He couldn't really say 'Oh, I was just thinking about how perfect you are and how I've been in love with you since freshman year but you don't have any clue', could he? However, Nick seemed to buy it, and immediately patted the spot next to him on his bed.  
"I don't know why we didn't think of this in the first place," he grinned, shuffling over as Jeff lay down on the bed next to him. "Cuddling is like, the best way to get warm," he lifted his arm around Jeff's shoulders as the blond snuggled into his chest. The scent of Nick's cologne filled Jeff's' nostrils, minty and fresh. He took a moment to breathe it in, the scent that was unmistakably Nick; the cologne, with a hint of vanilla, and for some unknown reason, Nick always seemed to smell slightly of Nutmeg. Jeff placed his arm next to his face on Nick's chest, his fingers playing with a loose strand of cotton on his Dalton Academy hoodie.  
"Warmer?" he asked, looking up at Nick, who had now placed his other arm around Jeff's waist. The contact made Jeff's' skin tingle and become increasingly warmer on the places Nick was touching, and that wasn't all due to body heat. Nick smiled back down at him, "This is so much better! We can be so stupid sometimes, Jeff. We've been sat here complaining about the cold-" Jeff raised his eyebrows sceptically.  
"I think you'll find it was you complaining about the cold. I just sat here and listened to your ramblings about hot chocolate," he chuckled.  
"Anyway, as I was saying, I've been complaining about the cold, and we have human sized hot water bottles sitting in the bed next to us!" Jeff burst out laughing, and sat up so he was looking down at Nick. "A human hot water bottle? I'm not sure what to make of that comparison, Nicky!" Nick shuffled up the bed so he was leaning against the headboard and was face to face with Jeff. "What I mean is that you're soft like a hot water bottle, and you're really hot!" Nick realised what he'd said as soon as the words left his mouth. A blush was creeping up his face, and he could see the same thing happening to Jeff. "No, you know, your body is hot. Wait, no! I mean, body heat and stuff! Not that you're not hot, I mean, you are, but I didn't mean it like that this time!" Nick rushed his words out, barely taking in what he'd just said himself. Jeff was still staring at him, wide-eyed and pink-faced. He was obviously shocked, and the situation was suddenly very awkward.  
The two boys just looked at each other for what seemed like eternity, until Jeff said in a very quiet voice, "You think I'm hot?" Nick gulped, not knowing what to say. Yes, he did think Jeff was hot. He thought Jeff was more than hot. He thought Jeff was beautiful; his face, his mind, his soul. And he thought about Jeff being beautiful every day, when he saw Jeff wake up in the morning with sleepy eyes and messy hair, he thought it. And when they were joking around in lessons together or singing with each other at Warblers practice, he thought of how beautifully perfect Jeff is. And he thought about it when they had yet another movie marathon and Jeff had fallen asleep in Nick's arms, occasionally waking up to smile up at him before drifting off to his dreams again. Jeff quietly cleared his throat, waiting for an answer. To hell with it, Nick thought. I am not keeping this a secret any more. I've had a crush on this boy since freshman year. In fact, I think it's more than a crush. I think it's extremely possible that I've fallen in love with my best friend. So, he took a deep breath, looked deep into Jeff's golden brown eyes, and said, "Yes. I think you're hot, Jeffy. But it's more than that. You are my best friend, and you're just so damn perfect. From your eyes, to your lips, to your smile, to the way you sing in the shower when you think I'm sleeping, to the way you laugh hysterically at the Simpsons even though you've seen that episode a million times before. I love the way you dance around our room when Maroon 5 comes on the radio, and I love the way you make references to movies and books even though you know I'm the only one in the room that will understand what you're talking about. And I love the way you can be blissfully unaware of how I feel about you, how I've felt about you for all these years. You just... you carry on your daily life, and you're always so happy and care-free. I don't think you had any idea that I feel this way. And, I totally understand if you want me to move dorms and never speak to you again because I've just humiliated myself beyond belief, but for once I've decided to lay it all on the line and say exactly what I feel because... I don't even know why. I think that it's time for me to be honest with you, with myself. I've never admitted to anyone how I feel about you, but I am now because you deserve to know the truth, you deserve everything because you're so special, and I don't feel right keeping the truth from you any longer, Jeff," Nick finished his declaration and was now searching Jeff's face for any sign of what he was thinking. He was confused, that much was obvious. But there was something else, something flickering in his eyes that could only be described as... hope? Jeff stayed silent for a few seconds, and then he did the one thing that Nick did not think would happen. Jeff started to chuckle softly, and then took Nick's face into his hand. Nick could see the corners of Jeff's eyes glistening with tears, although he wasn't sure what they were for.  
"Nick, I've felt exactly the same way about you. Since freshman year! Everything you said about me, I could say exactly the same thing back to you. You are the best thing that ever happened to me, Nick. There's been so many times that I've nearly told you how I feel, but then stopped myself in case you didn't feel the same way. Ignorance is bliss, right? I was so scared that you don't feel the same way, that I've gone all these years without saying a thing. I think that there is a high possibility that I have fallen in love with you. Because if this was just a crush then I wouldn't dream about you every night, I wouldn't think of you every time we sing love songs at Warbler practice, and I wouldn't be sat here now, letting all of my feelings out, telling you exactly what I'm thinking. So, Nick Duval, this is me saying that I'm in love with you, and this is me asking if you would perhaps want to be my boyfriend, so that I can love you forever," As soon as Jeff had finished speaking, Nick had closed the distance between them, gently pressing his lips against Jeff's warm, soft ones, moving slowly. Nick ran his tongue along Jeff's bottom lip just as he pulled away. Both boys had closed their eyes while kissing, and only when they had been apart for a few seconds did they remember to open them again. They both saw a pair of golden-brown eyes looking back at them. "Should I take that as a yes then?" Jeff said nervously, fidgeting with his fingers that were now pressed up against Nick's chest. Nick was momentarily confused until he remembered that Jeff had just asked him to be his boyfriend.  
"Well, I don't think it was a no, do you?" he asked, grinning. Jeff slapped his arm playfully, but then pulled him into another kiss. This one lasted longer than the first and there was more passion to it. Jeff parted his lips slightly to grant Nick entrance. Their tongues met, and fought against each other. Nick could taste the peppermint chewing gum that Jeff always seemed to have laying around, and Jeff could taste the hot chocolate that Nick had been drinking minutes before. Jeff lifted his left leg and placed it on the other side of Nick, so that he was straddling him. Nick planted small kisses along Jeff's jaw, before trailing open-mouthed ones down his neck. He sucked at the boy's pulse point, making sure to leave a dark mark there. He travelled back up Jeff's neck and met his lips once again. Their tongues crashed together, taking in every last bit of the other's mouth. Eventually they broke apart, panting, with large smiles on their faces.  
"I love you, Nick," Jeff said, intertwining his fingers with his boyfriends'.  
"I love you too, Jeff," Nick replied, stroking the back of Jeff's hand. Suddenly a mobile phone started to ring, causing both boys to groan. Nick fished his iPhone out of his pocket, "Trust Blaine to ruin a romantic moment," he muttered, before pressing green. "What do you want, Blaine? I'm kind of busy here..." he asked. Jeff tried to listen to what Blaine was saying, but he couldn't make out any words. He watched Nick as his face suddenly lit up with excitement. "Ok, I'll be there, I'll bring Jeff along too," he said happily, before pressing the 'end call' button. He bounced up off the bed, dragging Jeff with him.  
"What's going on?" Jeff asked, watching Nick as he pulled on some winter boots.  
"Snow ball fight; The Warblers against New Directions," he replied, tossing a hat at Jeff, who was now starting to get ready for the snow fall outside. "This is going to be epic, we can beat the New Directions and I get to show off my amazing boyfriend at the same time," he beamed, taking Jeff's hand as they both started walking towards the door.  
"You are so cheesy, you know that, right?" Jeff asked, laughing.  
"You love me for it. But uh, you might want to put a scarf on too Jeff," Nick said, reaching for the scarf on one of the hooks next to the door.  
"No, it's ok, I'll live," Jeff said, taking the scarf off Nick only to replace it back on the hook.  
"No, you really want to put a scarf on," Nick said, pointing to a spot on Jeff's neck. Jeff walked over to the mirror to see what Nick was pointing at, and gasped.  
"Oh my god, Nick! Be more careful with the hickey placement next time!"  
"And uh, how soon will this next time be?"


End file.
